Chapter 173 : Elixirs of Ascension

However, the other two were exceptionally rare pill formulas. One was named the Qi Replenishing Return Pill [a potent elixir that replenishes vital essence and true energy]. This pill greatly nourishes one's Qi [vital life force], blood essence, and True Yuan [foundational cultivation energy]. Even those who have suffered severe depletion of their foundational essence can rapidly recover their vitality after consuming this pill.

When the vast majority of cultivators attempt their breakthrough to the Zifu [the Purple Mansion realm, a core spiritual dimension within a cultivator], they are forced to burn their Lifesource Essence Blood in a desperate, all-or-nothing gamble. Even if they succeed, they are invariably left with severely depleted foundational essence.

If one possessed this Qi Replenishing Return Pill, they could save thirty years of recovery time spent healing such wounds, thereby gaining an additional opportunity to attempt a breakthrough to the Golden Core [the Golden Core realm, a solidified condensation of a cultivator's power].

Eldrin Chen recalled that the primary medicinal ingredient for this pill, the third-grade Guiyuan Ginseng, was already being cultivated in the family's spiritual herb garden. Furthermore, its medicinal age should have been nearing maturity in recent years.

The other pill formula was the Jadeite Barrier-Breaking Pill [an elixir that aids in breaking through cultivation bottlenecks]. This pill could increase one's chances of a successful Zifu breakthrough by ten percent, and its effects could stack with those of the Five Elements Essence Crystal.

For as long as anyone could remember, this formula had been the exclusive business of the Yuan Immortal Clan of Yan Kingdom. It was unexpected to find it collected within this alchemy manual.

Among the remaining four pill formulas, two were of the third-grade middle-tier, while the other two were of the third-grade upper-tier.

Of the two third-grade middle-tier formulas, one was highly obscure and of little practical use. The other, however, brought a surge of pleasant surprise to Eldrin Chen.

That formula was named the Spirit-Nourishing Pill [an elixir that heals injuries to a cultivator's spiritual sense]. This pill could treat injuries to a cultivator's spiritual sense [a cultivator's extended perception and consciousness], making it a rare and precious treasure for Zifu realm cultivators.

Upon reaching the Zifu realm, cultivators must begin practicing techniques to temper and refine their spiritual sense. If one's spiritual sense is not sufficiently powerful, it is fundamentally impossible to break through to the Golden Core realm. Immerse yourself in the complete world at audio-novel`com.

Cultivation arts that temper the spiritual sense [the cultivator's extended perception and awareness] can indeed make it more refined and concentrated, but prolonged practice often inflicts significant damage upon it.

If one possessed this Spirit-Nourishing Pill [a pill that nourishes and repairs the spiritual sense], then cultivation would proceed with twice the result for half the effort. Perhaps one could even temper their spiritual sense to the Purple Palace, Peak Stage [the pinnacle of the Purple Palace Realm] in an extremely short period of time.

Furthermore, the two third-grade, superior-quality pill formulas were exceptionally precious.

One of the formulas was named the Violet Aura Cloud-Vein Pill [a precious breakthrough pill refined from Violet Sun Jade and Cloud-Vein Fruit]. This pill was an immensely valuable barrier-breaking elixir, requiring the combined refinement of Violet Sun Jade and Cloud-Vein Fruit.

Once concocted, consuming just a single pill could increase a cultivator at the sixth layer of the Purple Palace Realm [a specific stage within the Purple Palace Realm] by thirty percent their chance of breaking through to the Purple Palace, Late Stage.

Precisely because of its wondrous and boundless utility, the price of each Violet Aura Cloud-Vein Pill hovered around one hundred thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy]. This price approached half the value of a third-grade, superior-quality magical treasure.

However, the cost of Violet Sun Jade and Cloud-Vein Fruit was exorbitantly high. Refining a single cauldron of this pill had a base cost of two hundred thousand Spirit Stones; one needed to successfully produce two pills from a single batch just to break even.

Within the entire Chu Kingdom, the only one capable of refining this pill was a single fourth-grade alchemist from the Firmament Sword Sect.

Even Lyra Jiang, before receiving it as a gift from Eldrin Chen, did not possess the formula for this pill.

The other third-grade, superior-quality pill formula was also extraordinary. That pill was named the Dharma Essence Pill [a rare treasure pill that can increase cultivation base], a rare treasure pill capable of advancing one's cultivation base.

Consuming this elixir can augment a Purple Mansion Cultivator's cultivation base by an amount equivalent to thirty years of arduous cultivation. Even a cultivator at the late stage of the Purple Mansion [the second major realm of cultivation, where one opens a spiritual mansion within the dantian] realm would, in most cases, be able to break through one minor realm after taking this pill.

These facts alone were not what truly shocked Eldrin Chen. What genuinely astounded him was that this Alchemy Tome was not a Third Rank [a classification for items or techniques suitable for the Purple Mansion realm] text.

That Chen Primus was clearly a senior expert of the Golden Core Realm [the third major realm of cultivation, where one forms a solidified golden core of spiritual power], yet he had still recorded a Fourth Rank Low Grade [a classification for items or techniques suitable for the Golden Core realm] pill formula.

"Golden Core Formation Pill [a legendary pill that aids in the formation of a cultivator's Golden Core]."

Eldrin Chen's eyes blazed with wild joy. Just like the treasures Five Elements Spirit Fruit [a spiritual fruit containing the essence of the five primal elements] and the fourth-rank Earth Vein Origin Pearl [a pearl formed from the concentrated essence of an earth spirit vein], the Golden Core Formation Pill could assist a cultivator in breaking through to the Golden Core realm.

The effects of such a formula were far too crucial. Typically, Golden Core Immortal Clan [a clan or family with a Golden Core realm cultivator as its pillar] and major sects would spare no effort to collect it, making it one of the most widely circulated fourth-rank pill formulas.

After making a copy of the formula as a backup, Eldrin Chen carefully stored the original away and finally let out a sigh of relief.

"The gains from this journey to the Yan Kingdom are truly unprecedented."

Eldrin Chen was immensely excited. Beyond these treasures, he had also obtained a set of Third Rank High Grade Formation Flags [a set of enchanted flags used to deploy and power a defensive or offensive formation].

The formation's core artifact, the Great Metallic Immortal Sword, was a veritable Third Rank High Grade Magical Tool [an enchanted artifact used by cultivators]. Once he broke through to the Purple Mansion realm, it would likely become his trump card, its killing power not inferior to the Heavenly Gold Fire Dragon Shears.

After a journey to Pingyang City, he delivered the Azure Jade Barrier-Breaking Pill [a pill that aids in breaking through cultivation bottlenecks] to the Old Patriarch.

Witnessing the look of pleasant surprise on the Old Patriarch's face, Eldrin Chen allowed a faint smile to touch his lips before inquiring.

"Old Granduncle, how is the recovery of your meridians progressing?"

"It has been over a dozen years since my last attempt to break through to the Purple Mansion [the third major realm of cultivation, where one forms a spiritual core]. With another two years of recuperation, I should be ready to make another attempt."

The Old Patriarch stroked his beard, a smile returning to his features. "With this Azure Jade Barrier-Breaking Pill, my chances should be at least fifty or sixty percent."

"Fifty or sixty percent..." Find thousands of chapters at audio-novel dot com.

Eldrin Chen's brow furrowed slightly. The cautionary tale of Varen Wei's failure was still fresh in his mind. He felt that a mere fifty or sixty percent chance was still fraught with risk.

After all, if the breakthrough failed, the Old Patriarch would be set back another twenty years. At over one hundred and fifty years of age, the Old Patriarch did not have many such decades left to squander.

Thinking this, he spoke again. "It would be better if the odds were higher."

"Unless we had a treasure like the Separated Flame Crystal [a crystalized essence of pure Separated Flame, extremely rare and potent for cultivation breakthroughs]," the Old Patriarch's expression shifted, then he shook his head with a wry laugh. "Such treasures are not easily obtained."

"While obtaining a Separated Flame Crystal [a crystalized essence of the Separated Flame element] might be impossible, it does not mean we cannot acquire other things of similar value."

Eldrin Chen suddenly spoke, his gaze meeting that of the Old Patriarch.

Half a day later, the two arrived at the Mysterious Iron Mountain Dao Field.

Eldrin Chen and the Old Patriarch carefully surveyed the Earth Vein [a subterranean channel of concentrated elemental earth energy], and finally exchanged a look of pleasant surprise.

The Old Patriarch pondered for a moment, then nodded decisively. "It is indeed a Metallic Essence Earth Vein [an earth vein rich in Metallic Essence energy]. With our current mastery of Formation arts, if we work together to set up a grand formation, we can open this Metallic Essence Earth Vein within a single month."

Eldrin Chen nodded. He recalled how Lyra Jiang had once cleaved open a First Wood Earth Vein with a single stroke of her sword. In stark contrast, Eldrin Chen and the Old Patriarch would require a full month of intricate formation work to achieve the same. The disparity in their power was truly vast.

After a moment's thought, he asked, "Could there be dangers lurking within the Metallic Essence Earth Vein?"

Chen Thalion shook his head with a smile. "Compared to a First Wood Earth Vein, a Metallic Essence Earth Vein harbors far fewer creatures of the Demonic Tribe [a collective term for sentient demonic beasts and monsters]."

"This is because a First Wood Earth Vein naturally fosters life and vitality, making it more conducive to the birth of the Second-Wood Demon Race [a specific tribe of wood-aligned demonic beings]."

"Conversely, within Earth Vein of elements like Metallic Essence [the pure essence of the Metal element] or Separated Flame [the pure essence of the Separated Flame element]—so long as they are below the fifth rank—it is exceedingly rare for elemental spirits or demons to manifest. If any exist at all, their numbers would be negligible."

Having made their decision, the two began to mobilize personnel to prepare for opening the First Wood Earth Vein [an earth vein rich in the spiritual essence of the First Wood element].

Now, with the distribution of the Foundation Establishment Pill [a pill that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm] obtained from the Beast Tide Calamity [a periodic invasion of demonic beasts] completed, the number of Foundation Establishment Cultivator [practitioners who have solidified their spiritual foundation] within the Chen Clan had increased from eight before the calamity to fifteen.

Following the increase in Foundation Establishment Cultivator, the number of Qi Refinement Cultivators [practitioners in the initial stage of refining their vital energy] within the Chen Clan also began to skyrocket. Currently, the clan's cultivators numbered over five hundred.

As personnel were continuously mobilized, a large contingent of Chen Clan cultivators boarded the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Boat [a spirit boat enchanted with a formation to slay demons] and headed for Dark Iron Mountain [a mountain rich in Dark Iron ore], fully prepared for battle.

Seizing the opportunity during the mobilization, Eldrin Chen harvested three Spirit Apricot [a spiritual fruit that can extend one's lifespan] and sent them to the Wei Immortal Clan for Varen Wei.

The Wei Immortal Clan was naturally profoundly grateful. With these three Spirit Apricot, Varen Wei would gain thirty additional years of lifespan. His hope of breaking through to the Purple Mansion [the realm where one opens a spiritual mansion within the dantian] in the future had risen to eighty or ninety percent—enough to alter the fate of the Wei Clan.

Returning to the main thread, three months passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, before the Metallic Essence Earth Vein [an earth vein rich in the spiritual essence of Metallic Gold] outside Dark Iron Mountain, Eldrin Chen stood shoulder to shoulder with the Old Patriarch. Behind them, over a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators and several hundred Qi Refinement Cultivators wore expressions of grave solemnity.

The Old Patriarch wore a smile as he gazed upon the successfully deployed Formation [a structured arrangement of spiritual energy for specific purposes], and spoke softly.

"The time is almost upon us." For the best reading experience, visit audio novel.com.